What If I Can't Quantify My Accomplishments?

Many job seekers know that in order to write an effective resume, they need to focus on their accomplishments for the different positions that they have held. Numbers look impressive on the resume, and salespeople usually find it easy to quantify their results because their work is so numbers driven.

But what if you’re not a salesperson? How do you show that you made a real contribution to the bottom line of your organization?

Let’s start with what you can quantify:

Time or money saved. If you instituted a process improvement that saved time and made a procedure more efficient, you can estimate the amount of time saved by comparing the amount of time that the procedure initially required with the amount of time it took after you improved the process. This can be stated in units of time (i.e., hours, days, or weeks), or it can be stated as a percentage (i.e., time for monthly close was reduced by 40%). By the same token, you can quantify the amount of money you saved for your organization. For example, you might have saved $1 million by switching vendors and negotiating a better price. You can state the dollar amount or the percentage of money saved (i.e., decreased expenses by 60%).

New business for the company. Even if you are not in sales, you may still have contributed to the bottom line by referring new business. Again, you can estimate how much money you earned for the company. Or perhaps your work led to more sales. If you are in marketing, you may have created materials that were used by salespeople to increase sales. Quantify the sales that were generated after the marketing collateral you created was implemented.

Increase in customer satisfaction. You may have been in a position to directly impact customer satisfaction. If your company measures satisfaction through customer surveys and you know that there has been a significant improvement in the customer satisfaction scores as a result of your intervention, you can quantify that increase and write it as an accomplishment on your resume. For example, you could say, “Boosted customer satisfaction scores by 30% in six months by instituting a process that resolved most problems with one call.”

Staff retention rates. Instead of saying something generic like, “Increased morale in the office,” you could talk about the fact that you initiated programs that boosted staff retention rates. This is significant because it is very costly to replace staff. You can either mention the decrease in turnover or the increase in staff retention. Human resources should have data on staff turnover that you can use to compare what the turnover rate was before you came and what the turnover rate has been during your tenure.


But what if you have some accomplishments that are significant for someone in your field, but they just can’t be quantified? Should you omit them because they are not quantifiable?

The answer to the questions above is no. There are ways to show the importance of your accomplishments even if you cannot put a number to them.

Mention awards. Awards speak objectively about the importance of your achievements. But don’t simply list the awards. Include a short descriptive phrase explaining what the award was for. The names of many internal awards are only meaningful to people inside the organization. A brief explanation of the award and why you were given it can give the reader a better understanding of why that award is important.

Talk about the impact of your accomplishments to the organization. Many people when writing their resumes make the mistake of stating what they did without painting a picture for the reader of the results of their action. For example, you might have written a manual on standard operating procedures that was initially produced for your department, but after upper management saw the quality of it, they decided to implement the manual company-wide. Letting the reader know that upper management thought so highly of the manual that they started to use it throughout the entire company shows the impact of your work.

State that your work was recognized outside of your organization. If you presented the results of your work at a professional conference or you were quoted or highlighted in a periodical or professional journal, definitely mention that on your resume. It gives you added credibility in your field and positions you as an expert.


The bottom line is that those who are able to show their contributions to the organization are more likely to attract the attention of the hiring manager. Showing that you have made significant contributions in the past gives hiring managers good reason to believe that you are worth calling for an interview.

Preparing for Interviews

How should you prepare for an upcoming interview? How can you make the best impression on interviewers so that they can see that you are the right candidate for the job?

Here is some advice on how to proceed.


Research companies

You should research the company before going to the interview so that you can speak to the company's needs. Check out the company website as well as any press releases or periodical articles to find out what issues they are facing. You can also use Standard and Poors as well as Dun & Bradstreet to find out about the health of the company. Try to weave some of this data into your answers early on in the interview process so that the interviewer(s) will know that you have done your homework.

Research the interviewer(s)

Do your due diligence before going to the interview, finding out as much as you can about the interviewer(s) through ZoomInfo and LinkedIn. On both ZoomInfo and LinkedIn you can find information about the interviewer’s background, including positions held and education. On LinkedIn you can view the groups the interviewer is a part of as well as the questions that this person has responded to. This research can really pay off as you establish rapport with the interviewer(s) based on the information that you have about them.

Practice interviewing

Practice your answers to commonly asked interview questions so that you come across as a well-prepared candidate. Interviewers usually start with the statement, "Tell me about yourself," so you should be prepared to speak about your qualifications as they relate to the position. Let the interviewer know from the start that you are right for this position.

Questions to anticipate

What are your strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
How would your former boss/co-workers describe you?
What interests you most about this position?
What do you know about our company?
Tell me about a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer.
What would you do if you were asked to do something unethical on the job?
Why should I hire you?
Do you have any questions?

These are commonly asked questions that you should prepare answers for before your interview. You do not want to go to the interview and then have to think of an answer on the spot.

Questions you can ask the interviewer

Could you please describe the ideal candidate for this job for me?
What are the company's strengths and weaknesses compared to its competition?
What would you consider to be the most important aspects of this job?
What types of skills do you NOT already have onboard that you're looking to fill with a new hire?
What are the next steps in the interview process?

You should always have questions for the interviewer. These are some sample questions, but it is also a good idea to come up with questions of your own that show that you have done your homework on the company.

At the interview

Arrive early so that you can check your appearance before meeting the interviewer(s) and make the best first impression. Convey confidence but not arrogance as you greet the interviewer with a firm handshake and comfortable eye contact.